AACR: Oral Bacteria Tied to Pancreatic Cancer Risk

(HealthDay News) -- There may be a link between certain oral bacteria and a heightened risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 16 to 20 in New Orleans.

For the 10-year study, the researchers tested oral samples taken from 361 participants who were healthy at the start of the trial but later developed pancreatic cancer. The researchers compared these samples to those taken from 371 individuals who were not diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during that time frame.

"We identified two types of bacteria that are associated with a higher risk for pancreatic cancer and have been tied in the past to such diseases as periodontitis," lead researcher Jiyoung Ahn, Ph.D., an associate professor of population health at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, told HealthDay.

One strain of oral bacteria -- Porphyromonas gingivalis -- was associated with a 59 percent higher risk for pancreatic cancer in people who carried it, while the other -- Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans -- was linked to a 119 percent greater risk of the cancer, the researchers said.

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